East boys win big over BryantCourier sports staff Hunter Hawkins had 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds Monday night to lead the Russellville East Whirlwinds to a 50-31 win over Bryant in ninth-grade boys basketball action. The Whirlwinds got off to a strong start before pulling away in the second half. The East led 17-8 after the first quarter and 25-16 at halftime before swelling its lead to 40-24 at the end of three quarters of play. Brent Klein added eight points a...

Pottsville Jr. boys sail past Jr. YellowjacketsCourier sports staff A 10-2 run in the second quarter and a strong second half Friday night propelled the Pottsville Junior Apaches to a 30-15 win over Clinton. Leading 4-2 after the first quarter, the Junior Apaches (16-7, 4-1 5AAA) extended their lead to 14-4 at halftime. Pottsville again limited the Junior Yellowjackets to just two points in the third and held a 29-6 lead heading into the final quarter of play. Cade Coffman and Jake Harris ...

Tryouts to be held for youth baseball teamCourier sports staff The River Valley Xpress 10-year-old youth travel baseball team will be holding tryouts at 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The tryouts are for one to two spots on the team, accoring to team coach Jamie Barker. The tryouts will be held at FastPitch World in Russellville. Anyone interested should contact coach Greg Standridge at 970-9700 or Barker at 747-3319 to find out more details.

RJHS West boys cruise past Sheridan; East wins 1 of 3Courier sports staff The Russellville West Whirlwinds ninth-grade basketball team improved its Central Arkansas Junior High Conference record to 7-3 Monday night with a 57-26 win over Sheridan. The Whirlwinds got off to a fast start and never looked back. Russellville West led 19-8 after the first quarter before increasing its lead to 30-16 at halftime. By the time the fourth quarter came around, the Whirlwinds held a 49-21 advantage. A.J. Bro...

RJHS West girls earn win over ConwayCourier sports staff The Russellville Junior High West basketball teams took one of three games Thursday night against Conway White. The ninth-grade girls picked up the lone win for the West with a 26-17 victory. The Lady Whirlwinds, though, trailed 3-0 after the first quarter before mounting a 7-1 run in the second for a 7-4 halftime lead. The West kept the strong play going in the third quarter and took a 20-13 lead into the final quarter of...

Strong 2nd half leads RJHS East girls to winCourier sports staff A strong second half Thursday night allowed the Russellville East Lady Whirlwinds to come back from a slow start against Conway Blue and pick up a 37-29 win in ninth-grade girls' action. After going scoreless in the first quarter and trailing 13-10 at halftime, the Lady Whirlwinds began taking control in the second half and led 24-22 after the third quarter. The Lady Wampus Kittens led 8-0 after the first quarter but weren...

RJHS East boys fall in 4 OTs; girls rally past BentonCourier sports staff The Russellville Junior High East Whirlwinds got plenty of extra playing time Monday night against Benton in ninth-grade boys action. However, the Whirlwinds came up just short as they fell 45-44 in four overtimes at Whirlwind Gymnasium. Macy Thompson and Hunter Hawkins hit key free throws for the East to force the extra periods. The Whirlwinds led during a large portion of regulation, including 9-5 after the first quarter...

RJHS East teams win two of three over Conway WhiteCourier sports staff Thanks to a 10-6 fourth-quarter run Thursday night, the Russellville East Whirlwinds picked up a 29-26 victory over Conway White in ninth-grade boys' action. Trailing 20-19 after the third quarter, the Whirlwinds outscored the Wampus Kittens in the fourth to get their fourth conference win of the season. The teams were tied 5-5 after the first quarter, and the East increased its lead to 16-9 at halftime before Conway White...

RJHS West splits with MorriltonRJHS East drops four games to Greenbrier Courier sports staff Kenneth Golden scored 20 points Monday night, and the Russellville West ninth-grade Whirlwinds cruised to a 61-25 win over Morrilton. Brandon Woestman chipped in with 10 points for the West, and A.J Broadnax had seven. In the ninth-grade girls' game, Leah Srutka hit four free throws down the stretch to seal a 31-28 win for the Lady Whirlwinds. The West led 8-5 after the first quarte...

RJHS West gets win at tourneyCourier sports staff The Russellville West Lady Whirlwinds picked up a 35-28 win over Springdale Southwest in the finals of the loser's bracket Saturday in the Kenny Whitson Memorial Tournament at Chafin Junior High in Fort Smith. With the teams staying close most of the way, the Lady Whirlwinds outscored Springdale Southwest 15-8 in the fourth quarter to get the win. Russellville West led 7-6 after the first quarter before the teams were tied...

RJHS East gets best of West 'WindsCourier sports staff Russellville East took three out of four games against Russellville West in Tuesday night's East-West game at Whirlwind Gymnasium. The East won both ninth-grade games and the eighth-grade boys game. The West Whirlwinds lone win game in the eighth-grade girls game. In ninth-grade action, the Russellville East boys picked up a 47-33 win. The East 'Winds led for most of the game, including 6-3 after the first quarter and 17-7...

RJHS West girls fall to PottsvilleCourier sports staff The Pottsville Lady Apaches scored 14 points in the fourth quarter Thursday night and picked up a 26-13 win over Russellville West. Leading 12-11 after the third quarter, the Junior Lady Apaches outscored the Lady Whirlwinds 14-2 in the fourth to get the win. Pottsville (7-5) also led 3-2 after the first quarter and 7-5 at halftime. Brittany Rogers led the way for the Junior Lady Apaches with 16 points and eight rebounds. ...

RJHS East teams move to finals of tournamentOla, Hector, Pottsville, Dover teams see action Courier sports staff Both the Russellville East ninth-grade girls and boys teams advanced to the finals of the Pope County Tournament with wins Wednesday night. The RJHS East girls picked up a 33-26 win over Dover and will play Pottsville at 1 p.m. Saturday in the championship game. The teams were tied 4-4 after the first quarter, but the Lady Whirlwinds took a 12-10 lead into halftime before lea...

RJHS West takes one of three from ViloniaDardanelle tops Lamar; Ola routs Lutheran Courier sports staff The Russellville Junior High School West basketball teams hosted Vilonia on Monday and took one of three games from the visitors. Russellville West's ninth-grade boys rallied to beat Vilonia 30-27. RJHS West trailed 18-13 at halftime but held Vilonia to just two points in the third quarter and took a 22-20 lead into the final period. Kenneth Golden sank two late free throws to seal...

RJHS East tops Hector in Pope County tourneyCourier sports staff The Russellville Junior High School East ninth-grade girls took control early and cruised to a 34-10 victory over Hector on Saturday in the first round of the Pope County Tournament. RJHS East led 13-3 at halftime and remained in control throughout the second half. Melanie Roach led RJHS East with eight points. Laura Brown and Hatley Adkins added six each. The RJHS East girls are scheduled to resume tournament play at 6:30...

West Lady Whirlwinds split with GreenbrierCourier sports staff Mindy Cooper scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds Thursday night, but the Russellville West Lady Whirlwinds took a 29-27 overtime loss to Greenbrier in ninth-grade action at Whirlwind Gymnasium. Trailing 13-11 at halftime, the Lady Whirlwinds took a 19-17 lead after the third quarter before the teams tied the score 27-27 at the end of regulation. The Junior Lady Panthers' lone two points in the extra period proved t...

East boys get victory over CubsCourier sports staff The Russellville East Whirlwind ninth-grade boys team picked up a 37-27 victory over Searcy in RJHS' first conference game of the season Monday night at Whirlwind Gymnasium. A strong second half allowed the Whirlwinds to pick up the victory. Searcy led 7-6 after the first quarter, but the East tied the score 14-14 at halftime. The 'Winds outscored the Cubs 10-4 in the third quarter and 13-6 in the fourth to win their confe...

RJHS East 8th-grade teams get pair of winsNinth-grade teams swept by Alma Courier sports staff The Russellville Junior High East Whirlwinds picked up wins in eighth-grade basketball action Monday night but dropped the ninth-grade games. Despite trailing 17-10 at halftime, the Whirlwinds went on to a 29-23 win over Alma in eighth-grade action. The East kept Alma scoreless in the fourth quarter. Alma went on a 14-4 run in the second quarter for its seven-point lead, but the Whirlwinds c...

RJHS West boys defeat ConwayCourier sports staff Kenneth Golden scored 21 points Tuesday night to lead Russellville West to a 53-41 victory over Conway in basketball action in the Whirlwind Invitational. The West Whirlwinds got more help from A.J. Broadnax and Brandon Woestman, who scored 13 and 10 points, respectively. Russellville East will play Pulaksi Academy at 6:45 p.m. today. In other boys' action Tuesday night, Searcy defeated Clarksville 48-43, and Dardanelle he...

Dover Jr. girls suffer loss in Greenbrier tournamentCourier sports staff GREENBRIER - The Dover Junior girls suffered a 32-15 defeat to Marshall in Monday's basketball action at the Greenbrier Invitational. The Lady Pirates (1-2) hung close in the first half, as they trailed 8-4 after the first quarter and 10-8 at halftime. However, Marshall went on a 22-5 run in the second half to go on for the win. "We are definitely still looking for a recipe for success with this team," Dover coach Mike Hea...